Guest blog from Alvin the MasterChef contestant: Mothers and eggs

Tonight’s episode of MasterChef starts with the most sensible of team challenges. Tracy’s blue team and Giuseppe’s red team need to prepare a three course lunch for each of the judge’s moms. The teams are given an hour to prepare three servings of each course.

Tracy’s carrot soup looks beautiful, I would have picked it. Tracy’s soup definitely looked better than the salad in my opinion. (The moms picked the salad.)

I do agree with the moms’ decision to choose the blue team’s Turbot over Giuseppe’s carbonara.

A quick word on Giuseppe’s use of dried pasta vs. making it fresh. I do not for a second fault Giuseppe’s decision to use dried pasta. Contrary to common belief, many Italian chefs use store-bought pasta. Joe Bastianich sells dried pasta at his new mega-market, Eataly. The important thing is to use a high quality pasta extruded on copper dies. Spending an extra couple of bucks on a pound of pasta will greatly affect your dish. That said, I can’t wait to get a new pasta extruder and make ALL of my pasta at home.

And finally it comes down to dessert… did we expect anything else? The blue poached pears beat out the red apple pie. This sends the red team into the pressure test.

Giuseppe, Ben, Suzy, Derrick, and Alejandra dawn their black aprons and square off in the MasterChef Kitchen. Tonight’s test: Eggs Benedict. I would normally say this was an easy test, but two additional factors come into play: just ONE serving of ingredients, and THIRTY minutes to complete the plate. That means, no time or ingredients to mess up. That DEFINATELY increases the pressure by a factor of 10.

The first time I had eggs Benedict it was one of those mouth-orgasm moments that Graham Elliot talks about. The richness of the yolk and the hollandaise cut by the acidity of lemon and spice of cayanne. Perfection in the form of brunch. My modern version usually involves a 63 Degree Sous Vide egg, Spicy Sausage, and a Hollandaise foam… NOT something that is achievable in a half hour.

The half hour flies by especially for Derrick who scrambles in the last 30 seconds to get something on his plate. Ben and Suzy excel in the pressure test and are the first ones sent to the safety of the gallery. Alejandra and her slightly overcooked poached egg are next upstairs. This leaves Giuseppe and Derrick up for elimination. Giuseppe’s time at MasterChef ends because of his under-cooked eggs.

Like everyone I’ve met at MasterChef, Giuseppe is a CRAZY talented cook with a HUGE passion for food. He’s started a site called Italy Underground offering recipes and culinary tours of South Italy. Check it out!